Travel Day and Easy Intro
I won't bore you with our journey other than saying it takes awhile to get some place outside your comfort zone. We flew from Dallas to Tokyo to Hanoi in about a day. Fortunately, I can sleep almost anywhere and did. The coronavirus was of enough concern that the flight attendants all wore masks and the passengers were a mixed bag of brave and cautious.
Sunday morning were awoke to overcast sky and cooler temperatures. Our hotel, Hotel de L'Opera is located near Ho Hoan Kiern Lake and also some very nice shopping. After a long leisurely breakfast, a group of us decided to had to another lake and park a little further from the hotel. It served as a good orientation walk and gave us a good overview of the city.
The first thing we noticed was the large number of scooters (vespas and small motorcycles) filling the streets (and sidewalks and alleyways) that saw the traffic signals as suggestions sometimes followed and often times not. We were cautioned to take extreme care in crossing any street although I have yet to see a bleeding pedestrian that failed to cross fast enough to avoid injury.
This being a Sunday, there were families and couples enjoying a cool day in the park. Many had pet dogs, mostly small, that were also stretching their legs. A few fishermen stood on the shores to catch whatever fish would take the bait.
Wondering back, we understood how much of life occurs on the sidewalks. Street food venders served Pho and grilled meats while customers sat at child sized plastic tables and chairs. Groups of men and women enjoyed tea while visiting with friends. And the sidewalks serve as shortcuts for those drivers not patient enough to wait for a traffic light to turn. Makeshift scooter washes also were scattered on the streets.
Our workshop group met late afternoon for a brief introduction to the week and then we headed out for our first shoot at the nearby Ho Hoan Kiern Lake. Well trafficked, this park served as a social gathering spot, an exercise facility, a game field for a game involving something that resembled a bad mitten shuttlecock. Old men played board games and young couples strolled over the stricking red bridge leading to a small bridge in the lake. We had lots of opportunities for people pictures.
A short walk brought us to a Catholic church in the middle of Sunday Mass with many worshipers standing right outside the door on the grand steps leading to the entry. As mass let out, families took off on their scooters, many holding more than Americans feel comfortable putting in a four door car. Dinner at Madam Hien restaurant served as an introduction to Vietnamese foods. The many, varied courses left us full and sleepy.
Tomorrow: KOTO Cooking School
Sunday morning were awoke to overcast sky and cooler temperatures. Our hotel, Hotel de L'Opera is located near Ho Hoan Kiern Lake and also some very nice shopping. After a long leisurely breakfast, a group of us decided to had to another lake and park a little further from the hotel. It served as a good orientation walk and gave us a good overview of the city.
The first thing we noticed was the large number of scooters (vespas and small motorcycles) filling the streets (and sidewalks and alleyways) that saw the traffic signals as suggestions sometimes followed and often times not. We were cautioned to take extreme care in crossing any street although I have yet to see a bleeding pedestrian that failed to cross fast enough to avoid injury.
This being a Sunday, there were families and couples enjoying a cool day in the park. Many had pet dogs, mostly small, that were also stretching their legs. A few fishermen stood on the shores to catch whatever fish would take the bait.
Wondering back, we understood how much of life occurs on the sidewalks. Street food venders served Pho and grilled meats while customers sat at child sized plastic tables and chairs. Groups of men and women enjoyed tea while visiting with friends. And the sidewalks serve as shortcuts for those drivers not patient enough to wait for a traffic light to turn. Makeshift scooter washes also were scattered on the streets.
Our workshop group met late afternoon for a brief introduction to the week and then we headed out for our first shoot at the nearby Ho Hoan Kiern Lake. Well trafficked, this park served as a social gathering spot, an exercise facility, a game field for a game involving something that resembled a bad mitten shuttlecock. Old men played board games and young couples strolled over the stricking red bridge leading to a small bridge in the lake. We had lots of opportunities for people pictures.
A short walk brought us to a Catholic church in the middle of Sunday Mass with many worshipers standing right outside the door on the grand steps leading to the entry. As mass let out, families took off on their scooters, many holding more than Americans feel comfortable putting in a four door car. Dinner at Madam Hien restaurant served as an introduction to Vietnamese foods. The many, varied courses left us full and sleepy.
Tomorrow: KOTO Cooking School
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